RCC Gulls versus Navy, March 30

One of the most exciting softball teams from Warsaw will highlight the Easter weekend celebration. Off to a 5-1 start to the season, the Rappahannock Community College Softball Team will be preparing to host Navy this Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. then later at 3 p.m.

The pitching staff made up of Middlesex’s Megan Payne, Richmond County’s Alex Clark and Caitlin Vanlandingham is averaging an ERA of 1.70, and the team as a whole is batting .323, scored 49 runs and allowed only 18 after six games.

“The pitching this season is as probably deep as we have ever had it,” said RCC Softball Manager Reggie Brann. “We have three very mature pitchers, ladies that have contributed in the past and will contribute throughout the year for RCC softball.”

Top newcomers Chesi Blake, of Middlesex, and Ebony Tunstall, of Essex, each have a homerun over the fence this season. Blake has two. They join a short list of only one RCC softball player to ever accomplish the feat.

This coming week, RCC will begin facing some more challenging teams. This is the first year the team is playing more than one club team, total are four this season.

“We are heading into our toughest competitions,” Brann said. “Navy went 12-0 in the fall, they are disciplined with naval students…I’m looking forward to them.”

Returning for the team this year are four players including King William’s Meagan Montgomery and Richmond County’s Lynsie Hodges, Spencer Gaulding and Vanlandingham.

Rounding out the team’s newcomers including Clark and Payne, are several area standouts including Quanna Bryant (James Monroe), Chelsea Montgomery (Lancaster), Alexis Rosser (Thomas Dale) and Brittany Thompson (Westmoreland).

“My personal goal is winning more than we lose. This year, if I know we’re going to do that then I’ll get greedy and try to win two thirds of them,” Brann said. “I feel comfortable at the game we are playing this year,” Brann said. “We’re playing good defense.”

Before the start of the New Year, RCC’s administration placed two new electronic billboards outside of their Warsaw and Glenn campuses. Brann was an advocate of publishing future games at the start of the season on the board.

“The two home games we have had up there has been wonderful,” Brann said, adding that it has attracted quite a bit of attention. “I hope the next we are playing it will say we’re playing Navy…I’m looking forward to it and calling it Easter Saturday.”